Wednesday, December 15, 2004

People in our neighborhood in South Minneapolis LO-HO-HO-HO-VE putting up Christmas toys in their yards. I'm not kidding. This is where the Vikings flags hang proudly next to snowman flags and giant creepy inflatable gingerbread men. Yesterday as I was walking I SWEAR I saw a lit up Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, but the manger must have been broken because he was in a half of a taped up lawn chair. Humorous or sacreligious? Discuss.

You know you're in the heart of a midwest winter when in the morning as you're rolling out of bed you hear on the radio that the temperature is 22 and think "Oh, good it's so mild out!"

Jay and I had a rocky Sunday trying to get the &$#@%* electric fence working at the farm as the bone-chilling wind spat ice and snow in our faces for a good 5 or 6 hours. I'm a little nervous that Jay might go and find himself a wife without horses now. That man is worth his lithe, fat-free body weight in platinum.

Bex and I got a light for the kitchen so we can get the flourescents out of there, and found a lovely new sink and kitchen counters. Our friend Jerry Osberg will be coming out this weekend with Mom and Dad to help us get some of the plumbing issues worked out. I will be working on helping the horses adapt to their new lovely home and keeping them from running through the as-of-yet un-electrified fence. On a good note, it looks as if we've finally pinpointed the problem. Fleet Farm is like this giant warehouse of farm supplies, really unlike anything at all I've ever seen in Oregon. It also has candy and clothes though, a very weird mix. But every time Jay and I go, I say "well this should be the last trip" and now we just laugh and laugh when I say that, because it's just so obscenely not true.

We stay at the farm for two weeks after moving the horses out there on Saturday, and I'm looking so forward to that. I get easily overwhemed during the holidays, and this feels like a perfect balm. We won't be "plugged in" out there, so it will be a while before I post again.